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Fastest Running Back Group Ever Emerges at NFL Combine 40-Yard Dash

A group of speedy running backs raised eyebrows and Draft stock.
Joe Cox|
Arkansas running back Mike Washington Jr. flashed amazing speed at the NFL Draft Combine-- as did several other backs.
Arkansas running back Mike Washington Jr. flashed amazing speed at the NFL Draft Combine-- as did several other backs. | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame Fighting IrishArkansas RazorbacksWake Forest Demon Deacons

If speed does indeed kill, then the 2026 NFL Draft class has a killer running back group. No, there's no Chris Johnson standout with a 4.2-second 40-yard dash time, but it's an incredibly speedy group ready to hit the NFL.

In fact, ESPN's Adam Schefter noted the official times and termed it the fastest running back group in Combine history. The group is an interesting mix of big names and surprises, some of whom probably ran their way into the Draft field.

The speediest back

The biggest surprise is probably the leader, Arkansas's Mike Washington, Jr. Previously a player at Buffalo and New Mexico State, Washington came to Arkansas for 2025 and did impress, running for 1,070 yards and eight touchdowns. But the back, who weighs around 225 pounds, shocked with a 4.33 second 40-yard dash, best at the position.

Washington was a likely late round pick who may have earned a considerably higher draft spot with his time.

Big Day for Love

On the other hand, the second fastest back was no surprise. Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love is almost universally regarded as the top running back in the class, with some calling him the best player overall in the entire Draft. With running back less likely to be a featured high pick priority, Love may not rise to the top few picks, but a 4.36 second 40-yard dash did nothing to hurt. Love is off back-to-back 1,000 yard campaigns at Notre Dame and finished eighth nationally in rushing at 1,372 yards, even without the benefit of a bowl game.

Love
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love was an unsurprising Combine star with a speedy 40-yard dash time. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The best of the rest

The other sub-4-4 second back tended more toward surprise, with Wake Forest's Demond Claiborne running a 4.37 second dash. Claiborne reached 1,000 yards in 2024, but ended up with 907 yards in 2025. At just 5'9", Claiborne probably needed a good time second NFL Draft pick status.

Another player who might have surprised is Alabama's Jam Miller. After a rough senior season in which he rushed for just 3.9 yards per carry and three touchdowns, Miller ran a 4.42 second 40-yard dash. While Miller is generally seen in NFL circles as more of a short-yardage back, the big-play potential with his speed might help his Draft standing.

Navy's Eli Heidenreich (4.44), Notre Dame's Jadarian Price (4.49) and Nebraska's Emmett Johnson (4.56) were some of the other speedsters from the Combine. Heidenreich was used more as a receiver in Navy's option attack, and his NFL future will be interesting. Price may step out of Love's shadow in the pros and Nebraska's Johnson could be a surprise star from a standout group.

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Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

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